Skip to main content

Regulated cell death – apoptosis

Apoptosis is a natural process of programmed cell death in which cells, including cancer
cells, self-destruct.1

Apoptosis, a form of regulated cell death is…

  • A highly controlled process for eliminating unneeded or damaged cells in response to developmental cues, cellular stress, or injury.1
  • A way that homeostasis is regulated and maintained in adult tissues.1
  • Instrumental in safeguarding the integrity of the genome in response to severe DNA damage.2

 

Why it matters...

  • AbbVie’s research in this area focuses on approaches to restore the cancer cell's ability to die.

Learn more about apoptosis, a form of regulated cell death:

Trying to solve the cancer puzzle with Saul Rosenberg, Ph.D.

A desire to tackle the complex challenge of discovering new drugs for patients has fueled a 31-year career with many contributions to cancer research.

Learn more

Bringing death to cancer cells

How nearly two decades of research yielded insights and hope around restoring a cancer cell’s ability to die.

Learn more

References

[1] Cory S, Huang DCS, Adams JM. The Bcl-2 family: roles in cell survival and oncogenesis. Oncogene. 2003;22:8590-8607.
[2] Anders CK, Winer EP, Ford JM, et al. PARP inhibition: “targeted” therapy for triple negative breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2010;16(19):4702-4710.